Featured Research Project

By enabling Dr. Chrystal M. Paulos to separate specific T-cell subsets, the Cell Evaluation & Therapy Shared Resource is essential for a new NCI grant (R01 CA175061). Dr. Paulos focuses on developing novel strategies to improve adoptive cell transfer (ACT) therapy that involves removal of T-cells from the patient, their expansion/ manipulation ex vivo facilitated by the Cell Therapy Unit, followed by their return to patient preconditioned with lymphodepletion via chemotherapy agents and/or total body irradiation. Specifically, this work has shown CD4 and CD8 T-cells that produce IL-17 (Th17 and Tc17 cells, respectively) mediate robust tumor regression. Additional investigation revealed that the expansion of Th17/Tc17 cells with the costimulatory molecule ICOS but not CD28 further improved their function and their ability to eradicate large tumors.